What is an IP Surveillance Camera?

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Humans have always had the desire to memorialize certain things with an image. Pictures may tell a story, convey an emotion, or simply be a tribute to a momentous event. Though the history of painting pictures dates back to the earliest etchings on cave walls, the first official “photograph” wasn’t taken until 1817, by a man named Nicéphore Niépce. The first video camera was developed in 1951 by Charles P. Ginsburg, and sold for a whopping $50,000. However, it wasn’t until 1983 that Sony released the first video camera designed specifically for consumer use.

The use of video cameras as a security device is a concept that only became widely available to consumers within the past 15 years. It’s incredible to think about how advanced the new generation of security cameras is, compared to just five years ago. Lately, a new type of surveillance camera has gained a bit of consumer attention, and has been tentatively dubbed the “IP Camera”. Here is a quick guide to the IP camera, and how it differs from most conventional surveillance cameras.

General Construction
The video capturing components of an IP camera are generally the same as most basic surveillance cameras. It captures video at intervals that can be programmed into the device, and may sometimes have a motion-activated recording capabilities. However, the camera could be defined as a “mini-computer”, with its own processor, memory and image sensing capabilities. Some IP cameras can carry out sophisticated video analyzing tasks.

How is an IP Camera Different from a CCTV Camera?
The primary difference between an IP camera and an analog CCTV (closed circuit television) camera is that an IP camera can both send and receive different types of data over the internet, or a computer network. Many basic CCTV cameras do not have this feature.

Two Types of IP Cameras
There are two main types of IP cameras:

Centralized IP Cameras
This type of IP camera works by using a separate NVR (network video recorder) to handle most recording and video tasks.

Decentralized IP Cameras
A decentralized IP camera already has a NVR supporting device built-in. This means that the camera itself can directly record to a digital storage medium (hard disk drive, flash drive, etc).

Are IP Cameras Useful for Home Security?
It is possible to incorporate an IP surveillance camera into your home security measures. However, when choosing a surveillance camera for your home, there are many factors to consider. This may include price, network availability, the type of system that you have, etc. Some security system control panels may not be compatible with a stand-alone IP surveillance camera.

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